The present invention relates to a fluid spray head including an improved closure member for closing off the spray orifice, and in particular an improved closure member that is adaptable to spray devices of standard type.
Closure members of a variety of types are well known in the state of the art.
The present invention is applicable more particularly to fixed closure members which are deformed under the effect of the pressure of the fluid when the spray device is actuated.
In most spray devices, the portion producing the spraying of the fluid to be dispensed has a particularly critical geometrical shape that should not be degraded in order to obtain a spray that is sprayed appropriately. That portion is usually formed in the end wall of the spray head, in the form of narrow channels disposed at various angles and connected to the spray orifice. The fluid is thus forced to swirl as it goes through said spray orifice. The end walls of the channels can be formed either by the end of a part fixed rigidly in the expulsion channel, or by the closure member itself.
Documents FR-2 767 311, FR-2 524 348, and EP-0 845 299 disclose that type of device.
When manufacturing spray heads for spray devices, one of the most difficult steps concerns forming a swirl profile of appropriate shape. Firstly, the end wall of the expulsion channel of the head is a long way from the point at which the plastics material is injected into the mold. Secondly, the thickness of said end wall is relatively small and it varies due to the shape of the spray head, in particular when in a pusher for a nasal applicator. As a result, there is a risk that the swirl profile might be deformed, and the forming of the profile is difficult to control and requires complicated and costly tooling.
Furthermore, in devices in which, to save having to use an additional part, it is the closure member itself that forms the end wall of the swirl chamber, the problem arises of said profile being deformed progressively due to the compression force exerted on the deformable portion of the closure member to urge said closure member into its leaktight closure position. Thus, in particular in Document EP-0 845 299, the compression force exerted by the top end of the insert on the deformable membrane may cause it to deform, thereby modifying or even degrading the swirl profile considerably.
Document NL-6 918 423 discloses a moving closure member incorporating a helix on its outside. That closure member moves away from the dispensing orifice when the device is actuated, thereby significantly modifying the geometrical shape of the spray profile while dispensing is taking place.
An object of the present invention is to provide a closure member for closing off the spray orifice of a fluid spray device that does not reproduce the above-mentioned drawbacks.
In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a spray head including a closure member, and whose spray profile is simple, reliable and inexpensive to form.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a closure member that is capable of achieving both leaktight closure of the device, and reliable opening thereof when the device is actuated.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a closure member that substantially does not modify the geometrical shape of the spray profile of the device during opening thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a closure member that makes it possible to minimize the size of the dead volume, and therefore that avoids the need for complex priming of the spray pump and/or the use of special pumps that are not of standard type. In addition, this makes it possible to guarantee improved protection for the fluid to be dispensed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a closure member and a spray head including said closure member that are simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble.
The present invention thus provides a spray head for spraying fluid through a spray orifice, said head being provided with an expulsion channel, and with a closure member disposed in fixed manner in the expulsion channel, upstream from said spray orifice, said closure member comprising a closure element which, at rest, closes off the spray orifice, and an elastically-deformable portion supporting said closure element for opening the spray orifice, said spray head further being provided with a spray profile, said spray head being characterized in that the spray profile is formed on said closure member.
Advantageously, said spray profile includes one or more spray channels.
Advantageously, said spray profile includes a swirl chamber around said closure element.
Preferably, said expulsion channel is substantially cylindrical and it is provided with a substantially cylindrical hollow internal insert, said closure member including a substantially cylindrical portion fixed around said insert, said elastically-deformable portion of said closure member forming the end wall of said cylindrical portion of the closure member, said spray profile being formed on said cylindrical portion and/or on said deformable portion of the closure member.
Advantageously, said cylindrical portion of the closure member is provided with a plurality of ribs spaced apart around the periphery and defining between them a plurality of first spray channels.
In particular said first channels extend vertically or on a slant over said cylindrical portion of said closure member.
Advantageously, said deformable portion is provided with a plurality of projections defining between them a plurality of second spray channels and/or a swirl chamber.
Preferably, the closure member is fixed to the insert by a peripheral groove provided in the cylindrical portion of the closure member, which groove co-operates with an annular projection of said insert, so that no compression force is exerted by the top end of the insert on the deformable portion of the closure member, when the closure member is in the rest position.
The present invention also provides a spray device for spraying a fluid, said spray device including a spray head as defined above.
The present invention also provides a closure member as defined above.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appear from the following detailed description of the invention given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: